Find Your Marbles!
12 Step Program

Unlike other 12 Step Programs, you don't have to do ours in order, or in
its entirety. We
believe that if you do just one or two steps, you'll find you will want to do
three or four or more. Soon, your marbles will be back where they belong.
So pick one - and easy one if you like.

Step One

Simplify, simplify.

As Thoreau put
it. Step one is really an overarching step that will carry you through the
next eleven. It is the foundation on which we find our marbles and gain inner
peace.

Our life is
frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify. - Henry David
Thoreau

Simplify your stock portfolio. Simplify
your 401K distribution. You will sleep better at night and gain a few
marbles at the same time.

Simplify your wardrobe. Do you really
need 43 skirts, 52 blouses, 37 dresses, umpteen sweaters,
god-knows-how-many belts and sashes, and that mountain of
color-coordinated shoes on the floor of your closet? Wouldn't it be nice
to be able to just shut the closet door? And don't even get me started on
that sock drawer!

Pick just one room to start with. Go
ahead, it's easy!

Step Two

Limit your driving.

Drive your car as little as possible, as we at MarbleFree.com have done. I
tried to take the bus to work in an attempt to have a relaxing, traffic
free experience. But, dag nabbit, after 5 months I lost my marbles waiting
at an unshaded bus stop over 45 minutes in 100-degree
Sacramento heat for a Sacramento Regional Transit bus. Holy
Mackerel, I need to go into another MarbleFree 12-step therapy session
after that!
And Regional Transit wants to expand the system?!? I say simplify,
simplify. Fix the system you have now! Those poor souls who have to ride public transit...I pity them. Maybe the
SACRT board can order up another $300,000 to study just how late
they can afford to be.

And so,
I don't recommend taking the bus in third-world countries or Sacramento.
If you want to keep your marbles, I do recommend telecommuting or riding
your bike to work if you can. That's what I've done. I ride my bike to
work now 8.5 miles each way. I smile every morning as I look back with my
Prius parked in the garage. And with gas likely to be going back up, I
really enjoy my bike rides. You can do it, too!

Traffic is one of the main
stressors in our everyday lives.

Perceived traffic stress is associated
with both general health status and depression in multivariate multilevel
models, such that persons reporting traffic stress had lower health status
and more depressive symptoms... Persons who lived in areas with greater
vehicular burden and who reported the most traffic stress also had the
lowest health status and greatest depressive symptoms. These findings
suggest that traffic stress may represent an important factor that
influences the well-being of urban populations, and that studies which
examine factors at only one level (either individual level only or
ecological level only) may underestimate the effect of the social
environment. - Soc
Sci Med. 2004 Jul;59(2):405-14. - Gee GC,
Takeuchi DT. Department of Health Behavior and Health Education,
School of Public Health, University of Michigan, 1420 Washington Heights,
Room M5224, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-2029, USA.

Step Three

Turn off your cellphone

Are you addicted to your smart phone? "Turn off your cellphone, daddy!"

Jack Armstrong (ArmstrongAndGettyRadio.com)
of the popular radio talk show "Armstrong and Getty" spoke
on his show about how it
feels when your 2-year old has to tell you to turn off your cellphone so he
can get some attention. So they booked a guest to talk about the very real
problem of cellphone addiction. Nomophobia
is an anxiety when you have no access to mobile technology.

Read a recent article about Nomophobia
here. Very interesting and sad.

Why not just leave yours at home or in your glovebox during your
commute, for a better life.
Take it out only if needed for emergencies. (I promise, people will find
you at work or at home within the hour!)

July 1, 2008
marked the first day in California that we needed to use a handsfree device while
driving. (Spoiler alert: It ain't working) But, you don't really need
a phone while driving. Just turn off the cell phone and
check your messages when you get wherever you are going. Enjoy the quiet, or National
Public Radio, or
that latest Beatles download. Get off that phone!

Cell Phones Raise Stress
Levels
In this study from the olden days (2005), researchers analyzed data from a survey of working couples
to determine if increasing spillover between work and home caused by new
technology was linked to any changes in psychological distress or family
satisfaction over time. The results, published in the Journal of Marriage
and Family, showed that increasing use of cell phones and pagers was
linked to a decrease in family satisfaction and increased stress over a
two-year period.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/12/14/health/webmd/main1125102.shtml

And
again,
if you are nomophobic, or are serious about really wanting to be safe, regaining
your marbles, and enjoying your drive
more, just turn that cellphone off. Pretend you are back in the olden
days ... like the 1990's ... and wait till you get home to check your
messages.

Step Four

Write or Read one poem a week.

Swing
Cushions

The squeak, and then
squeaking of unoiled squeaks
Reminds me of porch swing days of my youth.
I remember worn faded swing cushions on muggy buggy days,
Ice cream leaking on toes and swinging away.

Couldn't hide from the
world, I'd spend most the day
Swinging lone, watching cloud actors in a sky play.
On the porch again, grandma to wipe up the leaks,
Between squeak, and then squeaking of unoiled squeaks.

Yes, Poetry Therapy is real and has a dedicated following.

Journal of Poetry TherapyVolume 16, Number 1/March 2003
Author: Zenobia C. Y. Chan
Abstract: Poetry writing was found to be therapeutic during my doctoral
study by relieving stress, promoting self-understanding and filling my
emptiness. Twelve poems are selected and categorized into six thematic
areas: the sense of loss and social isolation; the persistent studying;
the fantasy world; the mother-son relationship; the bodily symptoms; and
the omnipresent gaze. The background of the prewriting experience and
the functions of each poem are presented. The paper ends by offering
some implications for education and calls for the use of poetry writing
as a therapeutic aid for graduate students in the process of their
study.

As for reading poetry, if you have never read it before, I suggest
beginning with a book of great poems to see the many varied styles, and
read some of the best poems written. My favorite book of poetry is, The Desk Drawer
Anthology, Poems for the American People. Compiled by Alice
Roosevelt Longworth and Theodore Roosevelt, 1937. It is out of print,
but you can pick up a nice used copy for $20 to $40 online (Amazon,
Barnes & Noble, or do a Google search). I've been reading that since I
was 5 years old ... and I hope to finish it one day! You also can't go wrong with a
book of poems by Ted Kooser or Mary Oliver or Robert Frost. Peaceful and easy.

Step Five

Paint one painting a month (Or visit a local art gallery)

Water color, oils, acrylic...it does not matter. Painting can be a way to a more civil
life.

I think sculpture and painting have an
effect to teach us manners, and abolish hurry. - Ralph Waldo
Emerson

We, at MarbleFree.com, really like that part about
abolishing hurry. That is another key to simplifying your life and
reducing your marbles deficit. I can see now why Thoreau and Emerson hung
out together.

One to go

From blue sky morning into darkness.
This dust will never settle;
It chokes the souls of those of us
Who watch in disbelief ó and hope
One still stands.

Cracked and broken against
A blue sky mixing with smoke.
Maybe itís not as bad as it looks.
One is down with dust all around.
One to go.

- A poem
inspired by this painting and 9-11
by
Jerry Grinstead

Step Six

Talk with one stranger or
acquaintance each week.

You'll find friends and
acquaintances in their yards, on a bench downtown or in the
park, seated next to you on a plane, or even in the grocery line. Practice your patience and civility and remember to
smile. Civility is becoming a lost social grace. When I was waiting for
the tour to begin at the August Schell Brewery in New Ulm Minnesota, I
sat with and talked with several elderly ladies and gentlemen who were
from that area. I enjoyed asking them about living in Minnesota all their
lives and hearing about how much they loved it. I could not imagine living
anywhere but California, and they could not imagine living anywhere but
Minnesota. We really are all the same ... just different!

Friends and
acquaintances

Acquaintances Iíve met on
planes are not
Unlike shadows of clouds that pass under me.
There but for a moment; then forgot.
But all the same in their odd familiarity.

Friends at home and friends
away are not
Unlike songs I sing to me.
Here for eternity; never forgot.
And all different in their joyful peculiarity.
- A poem written on a plane over Kansas
by Jerry Grinstead

Step Seven

Join the Slow Food movement.

What is Slow Food?

Slow Food is the opposite of Fast Food. We all
know what Fast Food is. The definition of Slow Food, from their website
says it best, "Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a
global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world
that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the
environment."

There are Slow Food chapters all over the
country. Recently, an article in the Sacramento Bee gave a great account
of the movement here in Sacramento, how it started, and how you can get
the benefits of Slow Food. Read the article at the Sacramento Chapter's
web site.

Be prepared, though, for
an influx of Marbles when you abandon fast food for slow food.

Step Eight

Get a library card.

Wow! They are still free and the library is quiet and has these things
called books all over the dang place. And they will even let you borrow them! For Free!! for a
few weeks
(who'd a thunk it?).
Or you can read newspapers from all over the country, and magazines
too at the library.
Did I mention it is
Free?

Step Nine

Read to a child.

Nothing fancy. Anything by Shel Silverstein (Where the Sidewalk Ends or
The Giving Tree, for example). A Harry Potter book is fun to read to kids,
and you may end up still reading after they fall asleep. And, The Night
Before Christmas at the holiday or a Dr. Seuss book any time! The Pokey
Little Puppy was one of our favorites when the boys were toddlers.

You not only are relieving stress now, you are laying the groundwork
for a less stressful time during your kids' teen years. They will remember
your having taken the time to read to them. And I'll bet they still won't let
you give that copy of the The Pokey Little Puppy to Goodwill!

Step Ten

Take a walk.

This is a
great way to get some exercise and begin practicing Step #6. A walk during
your lunch hour can make the afternoon seem like a new day. Keep a pair of
walking or running shoes at your desk and listen to National Public Radio
while you enjoy the beautiful day. A volksmarch is a great way to
socialize while walking.

Got a
favorite route? Map it online or, for you nomophobes out there, on your
smart phone
to see how far you've walked, or create a new route! Here are some example
walking sites. Google "walking" and your city name to find more.

Step Eleven

Take a vacation...By
Yourself!

Sure, we love our significant others,
POSSLQs, partners or spouses, girlfriends or boyfriends. But a little time in a new place by yourself where you
decide how to spend your time is refreshing. And you should really encourage your
significant other to get away and do something they enjoy.

On a trip in May, 2012, to a
nephew's graduation in Ohio, I flew into Detroit, drove through Canada to
spend a few hours at Niagara Falls. Then headed down to Nazareth, PA to
the Martin Guitar factory for a tour. Then on to the Yoengling Brewery
(the oldest in the USA) for a tour. I then went to Gettysburg for two days
where I rented a bicycle to explore the battlefield. I headed on to
Southern Ohio to Goat Run Honey Fork Road to get some pictures for our
album of the same name. Yes, I did make it to the graduation and then back
home to California.
ALL BY MYSELF!

On a previous business trip to
Minneapolis, I took a few extra days, renting a car, and driving
to Walnut Grove, on the banks of Plum Creek. I visited a sod house along
the way, visited the Laura Ingles Wilder museum, and
talked to local people in New Ulm about life in Minnesota. The highlight
of my trip was a tour of the August Schell Brewery in New Ulm, the 2nd
oldest family-run brewery in the United States. I don't expect I'll ever get
back there, so I explored some of that part of the world ... ALL BY
MYSELF.

On another business trip to Georgia,
I stayed an extra 4 days
to see some of that beautiful state. I walked Stone Mountain, walked
around Olympic Park, CNN, The Coca Cola Museum in Atlanta, and went to an
art festival in Roswell. I had only ridden through there as a child on our
family vacations from Ohio to Florida and back.

Step Twelve

Smile, be patient and write a
Thank-you note!

Email
does NOT count! Get some nice writing paper, sit down, and thank that
person for what they've done for you. You'll feel better about yourself,
and so will they. Try writing one thank you letter a month. You may just
find it habit-forming. Here's a nice article about a study from Kent State
University

For a $5 donation or
more, you'll get a laminated MarbleFree Membership card with the 12 steps
listed on the back. It is also your certification as a MarbleFree 12-step
Therapist! As a Certified MarbleFree Twelve-Step Therapist (CMTST), all you have to do is point people to this web
site and the 12-steps!

Thank you!

If you'd prefer, you can send
your donation, and mailing address to:

Jerry Grinstead
6377 Parkcreek Circle
Citrus Heights, CA 95621

Testimonials

I used step number 12 and 6 at the zoo, of all
places. A young mother and her 5 year old daughter were watching the monkeys.
The child wanted to go from cage to cage watching the monkeys up close. But the
young mother had an infant sleeping in the stroller next to the bench we sat on.
As she was explaining to her daughter why she could not leave the baby and
explore with her, I asked if I might just sit where I was and keep an eye on the
stroller while she watched the monkeys with her daughter. My son was asleep in
my arms from our own explorations, and I was already sitting on the bench and
could not leave. My smile and patience at sitting awhile longer was returned
with the smiles of both the mother and her daughter. 15 minutes later, they were
back at the bench and planning their next animal visit, with me and my son
telling them what we enjoyed most. What a nice day.